Contemporary artist, Ed Sokoloff, has finally found the logo and original menu for Stella Restaurant, formerly on Fleet Street in Boston’s North End. This was a “missing piece” in his famous North End restaurant collage project.
Ed reports that he is planning an update of the North End collage soon. Shown here are portions of the menu cover and two inside pages from Stella’s that opened in 1925. The menu is from the 1960’s. Take a look at the prices! I’ll have the martini for $1.10.
Click on the menu below to enlarge:
Ed continues to work on new collages, criss-crossing the State to look for signs and logos. Featured below are collages for bagels, burgers, coffees/teas, cupcakes, donuts and hot dogs. Each collage represents places throughout Massachusetts. The establishments shown on these samples of the new collages are smaller representative images of photos contained in the full collages.
“I found it historically significant that of all the primarily single-subject food types, the hot dog places as a group appear to have the most in continuous operation through the present than any other. Some began as a stand, however kept the stand name even though they became brick and mortar locations,” says artist Sokoloff.
The pre-1940 list (all of which places are in our hot dog collage), with originating year, includes Casey’s Diner, Natick (1922), Charlie’s Hot Dog Stand, New Bedford (1930’s), Elliot’s Famous Hot Dogs, Lowell (1920), George’s Coney Island Hot Dogs, Worcester (1918), George’s Hot Dog Stand, Fitchburg (1938), Jack’s Hot Dog Stand, North Adams (1917), Lee’s Hot Dog Stand, Baldwinville (1930’s), Nick’s Coney Island Hot Dogs, Fall River (1920), Nick’s Nest, Holyoke (began in 1921 as a popcorn cart, hot dogs were introduced in 1922), Simco, Mattapan (1935) and White Hut, West Springfield (1938).
Additionally, Joe & Nemo was a famous hot dog place that began in the West End of Boston in 1909, and lasted in its last iteration until early 2000.
Take a look and see how many places you recognize or have visited in Massachusetts.
